Tree Roots

Sycamore Seed Pod in Frame

Photo by sue.h

Wooden Bucket

Two years ago I found a somewhat lopsided (technically “drunken”) wooden bucket at a garage sale, and after a minute of intense negotiation was able to purchase it for $.25. It looked like it should be pretty simple to straighten up, but after an hour of effort, I started looking for some guidance. Luckily, the folks at Colonial Williamsburg suggested this superb how to do it book.

I learned that a cooper is a specialized woodworker “whose job is to bind long, thin strips of wood into … barrels, buckets, butter churns and wash basins.” Coopering requires a high degree of skill, higher than normal carpentry or carving.

There are three types of coopering:

a. Dry coopering, single use containers not required to hold water — fairly simple to make.

b. Wet coopering, building casks that are water tight, requiring high quality wood and great skill. (Today these casks are used only for fermentation: wine, liquor, Tobasco sauce, wine vinegar, etc.)

c. White coopering, building buckets for carrying sugar, flour and milk. Generally, this coopering called for less skill because it does not involve bending the staves.

Robert C. Ross 2008

Photo by West County Camera

Project 365

Day 3 - Abies bracteata - Santa Lucia Fir

Photo by pete@eastbaywilds.com

Norway Spruce Cones and Tools

Photo by mbiresch

A Wall and a Tree

Photo by Cilest

A Tree in England

Photo by Tall Guy

The last to Fall - Beech leaves hang on well into winter.

Photo by tozofoto

The End of Fall

Photo by DekirMax

A crew worked Tuesday to remove a 100,000-pound crane that toppled onto a Santa Rosa, Calif., house and smashed it in half while trying to remove an old oak tree. No one was injured in the accident. Notice the name of the crane company. Not very “RELIABLE”, I would say!

Photo by Christopher Chung/The Press Democrat via Associated Press

Project 365

Day 2 - Abies balsamea - Balsam Fir - Very popular Christmas tree.

Photo by Lunastruck